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Educators are voicing concerns regarding the place of literature in
the classroom, calling for the use of literature to supplement basal
readers in the elementary curriculum and raising questions about the
knowledge base of senior high students in literature and history
(Ravitch & Finn, 1987). Meanwhile, school systems are expanding their
offerings for gifted students.

At the confluence of these trends stands the gifted student, whose
particular reading requirements teachers, librarians, and both reading
consultants and consultants in gifted and talented education attempt
to meet. These professionals face the perplexing questions of how to
offer challenging reading to gifted students, how to guide their
reading, and how to know what books to recommend to them or their
parents. Another relevant concern is how to develop programs that use
literature in ways that are the most helpful to gifted students and
make the most effective use of their abilities. In programs for gifted
students it is important to go beyond a basic response to the need for
more literature in the curriculum.

One way to approach the question of guiding gifted readers is to
consider their intellectual and emotional development in light of
reading and literature. What are the intellectual and emotional
challenges they face specifically because they are gifted? What
reading programs can be offered to help them meet these challenges
successfully?

Characteristics of the Gifted Child As Reader

As is so often the case in gifted education, we can express the
reading characteristics of gifted children by using variations on the
word more. They read earlier; some are spontaneous preschool readers,
and nearly all learn to read independently soon after classroom
instruction begins. They read better, requiring less drill (if any) to
master each technique of the reading process. They read longer; during
the peak reading years (grades four through eight) many of them spend
many more hours each week reading than their classmates do, and some
gifted youngsters continue to be voracious readers into senior high
and adulthood, when most people find less time for leisure reading
(Whitehead, 1984). Typically they read a greater variety of
literature; they are more likely to branch out from realistic fiction
to fantasy, historical fiction, and biography (Hawkins, 1983).

Reading and Intellectual Development

The presence of an ability implies a need for the opportunity to
develop that ability. Thus Barbara Clark (1983) outlined cognitive
characteristics that differentiate gifted children from others, and
then went on to list needs related to each characteristic. Her list
includes the following needs:

To be exposed to new and challenging information about the
environment and the culture.

To be exposed to varied subjects and concerns.

To be allowed to pursue ideas as far as their interests take them.

To encounter and use increasingly difficult vocabulary and concepts.

To be exposed to ideas at rates appropriate to the individual's pace
of learning.

To pursue inquiries beyond allotted time spans.

All of these needs can be met easily and inexpensively through a
program based on books and reading. If the opportunity for group book
discussion is added, the program will also meet other cognitive needs
listed by Clark:

To have access to intellectual peers.

To share ideas verbally in depth.

To have a longer incubation time for ideas.

To pursue ideas and integrate new ideas without forced closure or
products demanded.

Promoting Intellectual Development Through Books

Teachers working with groups of gifted students can use books to
promote intellectual development by (a) using literature as a
supplement to the readings in basal texts, (b) forming discussion
groups based on books, and (c) following programs such as the Junior
Great Books discussion format.

As interest grows in the use of literature in the reading curriculum,
textbook publishers are beginning to supply appropriate materials.
Teachers can also develop their own programs by requiring students to
read whole books in addition to their reading in the basal series. For
gifted students, this requirement can be positive, rewarding them for
something they already enjoy. Students can keep reading notebooks, in
which they write title, author, date read, and a short comment on the
book. To ensure both quality control and choice, it is best if the
student can select the required reading from a list prepared by the
teacher or librarian.

Book discussions can be led by teachers, librarians, or volunteers and
should focus on themes and ideas in the literature read, with the
emphasis on higher level thinking skills rather than on plot summaries
and fact questions.

One formalized method of discussing literature is that promoted by The
Great Books Foundation. The Junior Great Books program offers a series
of 12 readings for each grade from 2nd through 12th, as well as
training courses for leaders.

For individual gifted students, books can be part of the educational
program if an adult (parent, teacher, librarian, or other mentor)
offers reading guidance, discussing what the student has read and
making suggestions for related reading--always keeping in mind the
student's interests, reading ability, and reading background. The goal
is to expose the student to a variety of books of high quality and
stretch the student a little beyond his or her previous awareness.
Gifted students do not automatically know what is good literature;
they need information and guidance to find the best.

Adults offering reading guidance or leading book discussion groups
will need suggestions for books that are appropriate for gifted
students. The most extensive lists available are found in "Books for
the Gifted Child" (Baskin & Harris, 1980), "Books for the Gifted
Child, Volume 2" (Hauser & Nelson, 1988) and "Guiding Gifted Readers"
(Halsted, 1988).

Literature and Emotional Development

In recent years educators and parents have become more aware of the
need to nurture the social and emotional development of gifted
children in addition to meeting their intellectual needs. Gifted
children and youth must face the same challenges as they grow that
everyone else faces, but the phenomenon of giftedness can make growing
up more difficult for them. They may experience isolation, feelings of
difference and even inferiority, and the sense of being misunderstood
or not understood by their classmates and by adults. Because of their
extreme sensitivity and intensity, they may be more seriously affected
by teasing and criticism than most. They must continually choose
between the alternatives of using their ability or fitting in with
their group (Gross, 1989).

These affective concerns can also be addressed through the use of
books. In many novels for children and young people, the issues just
listed are major themes, whether or not the characters are identified
as gifted. Adults who read and discuss such books with gifted young
people can guide them in preparing for or coping with the extra
dimensions that being gifted adds to the process of growing up.

Promoting Emotional Development Through Books

Those who use book discussions to meet emotional needs are using a
form of DEVELOPMENTAL BIBLIOTHERAPY. Developmental bibliotherapy
offers a way of assisting individuals who are facing a particular life
stage or a specific situation--such as giftedness--for which they can
be better prepared through reading and discussion. Rather than merely
recommending a book to a child, it includes three components: a
reader, a book, and a leader who will read the same book and prepare
for productive discussion of the issues the book raises.

To be effective, the leader must be aware of the process of
bibliotherapy: IDENTIFICATION, in which the reader identifies with a
character in the book; CATHARSIS, the reader's experiencing of the
emotions attributed to the character; and INSIGHT, the application of
the character's experience to the reader's own life. The leader then
frames questions that will confirm and expand on these elements.

Like reading guidance, developmental bibliotherapy can be used with
individuals or with groups. However, using it well requires more
background than reading guidance, and the leader must be alert for
indications that the child should be referred to a mental health
professional. More information on developmental bibliotherapy can be
found in GUIDING GIFTED READERS (Halsted, 1988), and background
information on clinical bibliotherapy, the forerunner of developmental
bibliotherapy, can be found in BIBLIOTHERAPY: THE INTERACTIVE PROCESS
(Hynes & Hynes-Berry, 1986).

This publication was prepared with funding from the U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Educational
Research and Improvement, under contract no.
RI88062007. The opinions expressed in this report do not
necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or
the Department of Education.